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Conversational analysis (CA) is a methodology for analyzing a broad range of speech exchange systems, or spoken interaction. This chapter begins by briefly describing what ethnomethodologically oriented conversation analysis is and then considers the intellectual roots of CA. It then describes how CA researchers typically set about developing analyses of interactional behaviors, and shows how such analyses may be used to address questions that are of interest to specialists in applied linguistics (AL) and second language acquisition (SLA) studies. Finally, it outlines some of the major issues and problems that must be addressed if CA is to become widely accepted in AL and SLA studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research into student academic writing adopts an academic literacies approach in which writing is no longer viewed as a generic skill to be taught as a set of static rules but rather as shaped by complex interactions of social, institutional, and historical forces in contexts of unequal power. This chapter reviews research into student academic writing in Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, identifying how students and teachers negotiate academic literacies within specific local contexts. The key themes discussed are the changing notion of understandings of the concept of discourse community in academic writing; the significance of the interrelationship between intertextuality and plagiarism; and the increasing significance attributed to the role writer identity plays in academic writing. The pedagogical implications and potentialities of the academic literacies approach is considered and avenues for further exploration, particularly those that involve greater engagement of academic literacy practitioners and disciplinary specialists, are briefly examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the internet is added to the environment of the classroom, instructional changes inevitably take place. The intensity of these changes depends on how the internet is used, as it can be aligned with either traditional or innovative forms of instruction. With traditional forms of instruction, the benefits are limited, whereas with innovative forms of instruction, the results can be powerful. This chapter discusses how the internet can open up spaces for social constructivist and transformative pedagogy, even in traditional classroom settings, by using as an example an internet-based sister class project, entitled DiaLogos, designed for the teaching of English as foreign language (EFL) in Greece and Greek as a second language (L2) in Canada. In the Greek context where the teaching of English followed a very traditional textbook-oriented approach, DiaLogos demonstrated how this approach can be expanded to integrate critical thinking, creative writing, and identity exploration with language learning. Illustrative examples of these processes are discussed in relation to a framework for promoting academic language learning and conceptualizing the relationships between pedagogy and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chapter examines the pedagogical implications for English language teaching of the fundamental theoretical tenet of sociocultural theory: higher forms of human consciousness are semiotically mediated. In the first part of the chapter, I will discuss the specifics of what it means to make such a claim regarding human thinking. I will consider the following theoretical constructs: the zone of proximal development, internalization, imitation, and private speech. In the second part of the chapter, I will consider the implications of the theory for the English language classroom. In particular, I will focus on ways in which the theory compels us to reinterpret the relationship between learners and teachers, the role that activity as defined in sociocultural theory plays in learning, how we understand successful learning, and the relationship between learning, development, and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter introduces the notion of imagined communities as a way to better understand the relationship between second language learning and identity. It is argued that language learners' actual and desired memberships in imagined communities affect their learning trajectories, influencing their agency, motivation, investment, and resistance in the learning of English. These influences are exemplified with regard to five identity clusters: postcolonial, global, ethnic, multilingual, and gendered identities. During the course of this discussion, we consider the relevance of imagined communities for classroom practice in English education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of information and communication technology (ICT) in educational settings offers the chance to reconceptualize the second and foreign language classroom as a learning environment with a new quality of communicative and intercultural learning. If teachers are adequately prepared to handle the difficult task of incorporating ICT into the classroom, then these new environments have the potential for language encounters beyond the classroom, for enhanced access to a wide variety of resources, and for the communicative use of the target language. After a review of recent research on the integration of technology in teacher education programs, two model formats for integrating technology into preservice teacher courses are presented that can be emulated in a variety of national settings. Even though technology plays an important role, these formats extend far beyond technology by integrating different domains of relevant knowledge as identified by educational research on teacher learning, for example, knowledge pertaining to insights gained from previous and current research, the processes of language teaching and learning in actual classrooms, and student teachers' identities and their images of teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter provides an overview of the roles teachers are adopting as they engage with the increasingly complex web of digital texts and communications that compose the early twenty-first century economic and educational environment. It identifies and describes three main categories of roles in the literature on CALL and information and communication technologies (ICTs)—the metaphoric, the attitudinal, and the functional. Metaphoric roles are those assigned in order to capture some key aspect of changes in work practices. Attitudinal roles are those adopted by individuals in relation to the changes in their environment associated with ICTs. Functional roles are those imposed by the ICT itself on those who engage with it. The chapter goes on to present four key issues in relation to teachers' roles in the new ICT environment—the extent to which teachers can influence adoption and use, the change in teachers' work and status, the changes in teaching contexts and conditions, and the skills needed to engage with ICT effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provision for the EAL learner in England can offer a purposeful and communicative learning environment, that is, the mainstream classroom, where there is a prescribed curriculum from which teachers can derive both content and language learning objectives and appropriate activities and tasks to encourage meaningful language learning. However, continuing debate persists with respect not only to assessment for funding, curriculum achievement, and language proficiency but also to mainstreaming versus withdrawal, specialist language teaching versus provision to promote the inclusion of ethnic minorities, and school-based versus local education authority resourcing. EAL teachers must be prepared to respond in diverse ways to the needs of learners and to engage more proactively with mainstream pedagogy to assist schools in delivering inclusion and to empower learners. They will also need to continue to engage with and challenge government policies in order to increase understanding of EAL as a specialist field and to ensure that policies that relate to equality and educational access take full account of EAL learners. In order to do this, they will need the convictions of an informed professional knowledge base afforded by opportunities for further professional development and research. This chapter discusses the challenges that face the EAL profession and suggests possibilities for a future agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptualizing and implementing teacher education programming for teachers who work with students who do not use the school's language of instruction as their primary language is a complex task. The arrival of second or other language students often has an impact on a school's linguistic, cultural, and learning environment and can create linguistic and racial tensions within the school community. This chapter reviews current research and writing in the fields of education, TESOL, and applied linguistics that can help English language teachers respond to linguistic and racial tensions that arise in multilingual schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter critically reviews three trends that exemplify Western perspectives on the professional development of English language teachers at the turn of the century. Both reflective practice and action research aim to engage teachers directly in their own professional growth, while investigations of teacher thinking represent a complementary research perspective. All three, it is argued, are responses to, and symptoms of, a loss of certainty in former grand narratives of English language teaching (ELT). All three are evaluated in relation to their cultural assumptions concerning appropriate support for teacher development. The chapter concludes with a discussion of possible future directions in the in-service professional development of teachers that may represent either an evolution or a rejection of current approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of teachers' professional development have identified phases or sequences that teachers go through in the course of their careers. Some of the commonly identified phases are an initial survival and exploration phase, a stabilization phase if the experience in the previous phase is positive, or a phase of self-doubt if the experience is negative, an experimentation and diversification phase in which they are highly motivated to try out new ideas and increase their impact inside as well as beyond the classroom, a phase of reassessment if they are disappointed with the outcome, and a phase of serenity in which teachers come to terms with themselves. These phases of development, however, are not linear. Teachers move in and out of phases because of a number of factors such as personal experiences, social environment and organizational influences. This chapter reports on a case study of one ESL teacher and the factors and sources of influence that have shaped her professional development. It discusses the implications of the findings for teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applied linguistics and poststructuralism offer varied perspectives on language, culture, and identity. The purpose of this chapter is to establish key theoretical and pedagogical contrasts, as well as to sketch out future areas of complementarity. Applied linguists tend to view language as a site in which social and cultural differences are displayed, whereas poststructuralists tend to view language as a vehicle through which differences between and within identity categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity) are created and realized. By extension, applied linguists often provide rigorous descriptions of particular features (e.g., pragmatic norms, literacy practices) that define minority identities and place students at potential risk. Such mappings, for poststructuralists, are illusory. Language is fundamentally unstable (cf. Derrida's notion of différance), and identities are multiple, contradictory, and subject to change across settings and through interaction. Representation becomes acrucial area of debate here. Many applied linguists rightfully claim that academic achievement and social justice are advanced when non-dominant varieties of language are systematically described and valorized in schools. Poststructuralists correctly warn, however, that power relations are always implicated when we formalize particular language/identity correlations. Such representations are always shaped by discourses, and are hence "dangerous," in that they potentially reify the marginal positions and practices that they name. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter argues that both language tests and the English language play powerful roles in today's world and that the combination of these two powerful entities has far reaching implications for policy and practice in English language teaching (ELT). It further claims that it is often the case that the English language teaching profession serves as a major mechanism through which these powerful entities are manifested as English language teachers are expected to carry out and implement language testing and English language teaching policies. This brings about a change in the status of teachers, from authoritative and responsible professionals to what many would regard as servants of the system. Alternative proposals, driven by teachers and based on pedagogical considerations are encouraged as such strategies can result in more democratic, ethical, humane and pedagogical approaches to English language testing and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter explores the contributions and potential of narrative inquiry in English language teaching. Two stories of experience are presented and used as a touchstone throughout the chapter. We begin by discussing key terms—narrative inquiry and English language teaching and learning—to set boundaries for the review. The latter term led to a literature of learning of English as a second, third, or other language in predominantly English-speaking cultures and environments. The former term led to an experiential literature focused on language learning in life contexts. The narrative inquiry research literature is traced through the social sciences, educational studies, and language learning literature. Experiential characteristics of narrative inquiry are brought forward, and a detailed narrative inquiry analysis is made of two specific studies. In addition, life-based literary narratives are named and described. The contribution of narrative inquiry lies in its potential to permit and encourage the study of English language teaching and learning in the context of life and in the pursuit of broad educational questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Action research focuses simultaneously on action and research. The action aspect requires some kind of planned intervention, deliberately putting into place concrete strategies, processes, or activities in the research context. Interventions in practice are usually in response to a perceived problem, puzzle, or question that people in the social context wish to improve or change in some way. These problems might relate to teaching, learning, curriculum or syllabus implementation, but school management or administration are also a possible focus. This chapter describes the origins of action research, its relationships to other forms of empirical research, its reach and development, its central characteristics, and the current debates that surround it. It also considers the scope of action research in the applied linguistics field and concludes by looking at future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter provides an overview of recent qualitative research in classrooms examining English language learners (ELLs). I first present common features of qualitative research and review debates regarding research paradigms in the social sciences and humanities. I also discuss the role of triangulation and capturing participants' insider or emic perspectives in qualitative research and highlight various data collection methods and ways of combining macrolevel and microlevel analyses, particularly in ethnographic research. Ethical issues, difficulties obtaining informed consent in classroom research, and criteria for evaluating qualitative research are then considered. Three qualitative studies that have been deemed exemplary and meritorious by scholars in English language education are then presented, and some common themes in current qualitative classroom research with ELLs are identified. The chapter concludes with some directions for future qualitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of research in the social sciences is to generate data that contribute to our understanding of social phenomena. In education, research provides information on multiple phenomena such as the efficacy of various instructional approaches, achievement differences between social groups and across countries, and the many factors that contribute to school improvement generally. It is common to assume that there is a direct relationship between research and both policy and practice. Policymakers and practitioners are usually seen as consumers of research insofar as they apply research findings to the generation of policy and the implementation of more effective practice. Clearly political considerations enter into all stages of this process—in decisions about what research gets funded, what research methodologies are considered "scientific" or relevant to policy, in the conclusions drawn from the research, and the policies and practices that are ultimately promoted. Analysis of the relationship between research and policy/practice in virtually any context will reveal the complex intersections between empirical data and ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher language awareness (TLA) is receiving increased attention among researchers, teacher educators, and those responsible for quality assurance in language education. This chapter aims to summarize current thinking and research about TLA and to consider future directions for work in the area. Whilst acknowledging the need for TLA to encompass a broad awareness of language in communication, the chapter concentrates specifically on TLA as it relates to the language systems. The first section of the chapter outlines the nature of TLA and explores its potential significance in pedagogical practice. The next section examines the main research findings within TLA and also in interconnected areas such as L2 teachers' cognitions about the linguistic content of their teaching. This is followed by an outline of current approaches to the development of TLA in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) programs. The chapter then considers issues of current debate, in particular the TLA of native-speaker (NS) and non-native-speaker (NNS) teachers, before concluding with a discussion of future directions in researching and developing TLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen increased attention being given to the notion of genre in the area of English language teaching. This is especially the case in the teaching of English for specific purposes (ESP), the teaching of English in Australia, and the teaching of composition studies in North America. The main approaches to the analysis of genres in these areas are the ESP perspective, the work of the Sydney school, and the composition studies view of genre in what is sometimes called the new rhetoric. There are a number of ways in which each of these perspectives on genre overlap and ways in which they are different from each other. Much of this is due to the different goals of each of these views of genre and the differing theoretical positions and concerns that underlie the various perspectives. This chapter discusses insights that have been gained in each of these areas and what they might mean for English language teaching. It discusses debates and concerns about genre-based approaches to language teaching, and also considers future directions for genre-based language teaching and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1994 South Africa has been transformed from an isolated, apartheid state into an Afro-modernist democracy linked to the rest of the world. Our chapter locates itself within this post-apartheid historical moment and reports on the findings of an ELT teacher research group, the Wits Multiliteracies Research Group that has focused, since 1996, on the applicability of multimodal pedagogies to multilingual, multicultural classrooms in Johannesburg (Cope and Kalantzis 2000; Kress and van Leeuwen 1996, 2001). Multimodal pedagogies work across semiotic modes, including the visual, written and spoken language, the gestural, the sonic, and the performative. In South Africa, writing culture is underdeveloped, except in educational institutions where success is unattainable without access to written language skills in English. Our research in early childhood, secondary, and tertiary classrooms reports on the limits and possibilities afforded through the use of different representational resources in the representation of meaning, suggesting that multimodal pedagogies can broaden the base for representation by opening up the third ground in the struggle between mainstream schooling literacy demands and cultural difference. In their multiple configurations, such pedagogies have the power to unleash creativity, intelligence, and agency through the creation of symbolic identity objects and practices that lead to creative rapprochements in a society struggling to heal itself after a painful, traumatic past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and communication technologies are having a profound affect on all aspects of language use, especially in written communication. The purposes of writing, the genres of written communication, and the nature of audience and author are all changing rapidly with the diffusion of computer-mediated communication, both for first and second language writers. This chapter reviews research on the relationship of new technologies to writing and discusses the implications of this research for English language learning and teaching. Issues addressed include the participatory dynamics and linguistic features of computer-assisted classroom discussion, the impact of e-mail exchanges on students' writing process, and the relationship of writing purpose to student outcomes in multimedia authoring. The chapter also addresses areas of debate and concern, such as whether the internet fosters plagiarism, and whether new forms of computer-mediated writing serve to complement and enhance more traditional forms of writing or detract from them. Finally, future trends in technology-intensive writing, such as the increased importance and nature of electronic literacy, are also discussed, as are the implications of these trends for teaching and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptual and epistemological grounds of literacy are being stretched as the encoded worlds we navigate increasingly interpenetrate multicultural, multilingual, and multimodal contexts. The twenty-first century finds us at a critical juncture for reevaluating English language and literacy teaching agendas. The technological revolution has facilitated and augmented human communication such that everyday interactions now essentially include digital interfaces. Language, text, and discourse norms and practices are being rapidly expanded and reinvented in response to new media and global networks. The language driving the majority of intercultural web traffic is English, which reinforces its position as a global language and adds an insidious dimension of cybercolonialism. Teachers are in crisis: domains for English language socialization now extend from known geographical and social contexts to the global panorama of the virtual world in which we, too, are learners. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have created new literacies that are required by learners of all ages if they are to fairly contend for academic and economic success. This chapter examines the evolution of literacy into multiliteracies and considers how this epistemological shift affects ELT. Digitally responsive, pedagogically strategic, ecologically sensitive English language and literacy teaching and learning practices are discussed in conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of computer technology in English language teaching and learning is accepted, often uncritically, in many settings, even though in other settings, computers are not available, while in still other settings, teachers and learners often lack the necessary computer literacy skills to exploit the technology effectively for language teaching and learning. While many articles and books discuss tips for using computer-based technologies in the classroom, research studies tend to be small scale and seldom generalizable. Still lacking is a rigorous approach to the study of the implementation of computer-based technologies (both how the technologies are implemented and which technologies are chosen); the effects of computer-based technologies on instruction (including effects on the role of the teacher); the effects of computer-assisted instruction on language learning; and the integration of computer-assisted instruction into curriculum design. This chapter summarizes extant research in these areas, while identifying the assumptions underlying much of the literature on the use of new technologies. The chapter also predicts, from the existing research data, what would be necessary for computers to be ubiquitous and part of teachers' repertoire of instructional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter aims to extend our understanding of spoken discourse by first outlining some of the major features of spoken language, and by doing so, highlighting the differences between spoken and written language. It will then describe some of the major approaches to analyzing spoken language, beginning with the approach taken by Sinclair and Coulthard (known as the Birmingham School) and then moving to conversation analysis and to systemic-functional approaches. We also consider recent work on genre theory and how this has been underpinned by the development of spoken corpora. The chapter will then center on some of the principal debates in the study of spoken language. These include problems of transcription and the representation of context, prosody, etc., and problems arising from the centrifugal tendency of spoken language away from standards and collective norms (as compared with the more homogenous nature of written varieties). The debate also includes critical issues of ownership of a language such as English, where many spoken varieties (both native and non-native) are in daily use around the world. Additionally, the problem of lack of codification of spoken grammars and the absence of a "canon" of spoken texts will be raised as an issue for pedagogy. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the contribution technological advances are likely to make in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional view of grammar as simply a collection of word classes and rules for their combination is being supplemented by theories that conceive of grammar in terms of its cognitive and social origins. Such theories are being used to support research from psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives into the learning and teaching of language and how grammar is implicated in such processes. This chapter looks at three models of grammar that are representative of the major paradigms currently informing ELT research and practice: grammar as structure, grammar as mental faculty, and grammar as functional resource. It concludes with a look at some of the issues surrounding grammar and future directions for research and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter reviews key vocabulary research and draws a number of teaching and learning implications from that research. Lexical areas addressed include the amount of vocabulary required to use English, what it means to know and learn a word, the incremental nature of vocabulary acquisition, the role of memory in vocabulary learning, incidental and intentional vocabulary learning, techniques for effective vocabulary teaching, and the role of learning strategies in vocabulary acquisition. The insights and techniques discussed in this chapter can help teachers develop more principled, and hopefully more effective, vocabulary programs for their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter discusses the implications of recent second language acquisition research in the field of phonology for second language teachers, including the question of whether adult second language learners can trigger a new phonological structure that is not present in the first language. I will look at processes of Chinese and Japanese learners of English acquiring the [l]/[r] contrast, and then will follow this up by looking at the implications of Matthew's work on Japanese learners being instructed in acquiring a variety of English sounds and how phonological theory explains their results. Work by Atkey on the acquisition of Czech palatal sounds will also be described to illustrate the conditions under which people can perceive new sounds. The chapter will conclude with a list of the implications for second language teachers of recent research in phonology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter proposes a framework for conceptualizing the nature of academic language and the pedagogical conditions that foster its development. Academic language proficiency is distinguished from both conversational fluency and discrete language skills and defined as the ability to understand and express, in both oral and written modes, concepts and ideas that are relevant to success in school. Extensive reading is crucial for academic language development because less frequent vocabulary, most of which derives from Greek and Latin sources, is found primarily in written text. Also, grammatical constructions and discourse structures found in typical written text differ significantly from those found in conversational interactions. The implications of this conceptualization of academic language for English language teaching in Hong Kong are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing, using and learning a language are forms of what is often called cognition. Ideally, theories of cognition account for its representation, processing, and acquisition. Linguists in the generative school and connectionists give radically different accounts of these three dimensions of cognition, and therefore hold different views on the acquisition of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in a second language. Recent developments in cognitive science also result in new definitions of implicit and explicit learning, different from Krashen's notions of acquisition and learning that have influenced L2 pedagogy for more than 20 years. The chapter focuses on fluency, emphasizing the importance for L2 learners to automatize their word recognition skills in listening and reading and their word retrieval skills in speaking and writing. With regard to explicit grammar instruction, it is argued that although explicit knowledge cannot be transformed into implicit knowledge neurophysiologically, explicit grammar instruction may indirectly be beneficial to the establishment of implicit knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is obvious that English language teaching must have as its primary focus the development of the English language, as Cummins and Man point out in their chapter in this section of the handbook, but the ELT field has not yet reached a common shared understanding of what is meant by language. (The issue of what is English is even more contentious, but the current controversies around its description and ownership are dealt with in other sections of this handbook). Traditionally in ELT programs and in many textbooks and teaching materials, the English language has been divided into four discrete language skills—speaking, listening, reading, and writing—and/or, particularly in preservice teacher training courses, into the traditional structural elements of language—phonology, vocabulary (or lexis), grammar (or syntax) and more recently, discourse and/or text. However, these traditional boundaries for classifying language are inherently problematic in that they represent language as a clearly demarcated and somewhat static construct that can be decontextualized and described without reference to its context and users. In reality (or virtual reality, as is increasingly the case) texts constructed via email or online chatrooms seem closer to conversational language than to written language, and they often make meaning through the incorporation of non-verbal references, digital images and other extralingustic information. Increasingly, too, corpus-based studies of real language use are showing how language forms and functions are changing and are changed by users, especially when English is being used as a lingua franca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter considers the current state of classroom assessment of English language proficiency and use, and argues for the existence of two often conflicting assessment cultures, a learning culture and an exam culture. This chapter characterizes the key principles and practices in each culture, and suggests that these two cultures stem from differing ideologies that pose great obstacles to reconciliation between effective selection instruments (usually called tests) and humanistic assessment. The chapter suggests that planned innovation in assessment is unlikely to be successful without vastly improved attention to teacher preparation in relation to assessment. It is further proposed that because the principles and practices of the exam culture reflect the dominant ideology in the discourse of educational economics and politics, this domination can only be altered by paying conscious attention to teachers' voices, particularly through professional development activities conducted as an integral part of the process of establishing value systems for educational assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter examines research on English language learner identity in postsecondary contexts. It focuses first on how demographic research classifies students according to commonalities, overlooking significant differences. It then examines how ethnography and critical ethnography reveal more complex notions of identity, thereby offering insight into where institutional and pedagogical reform might be needed. The examples of critical ethnography, in particular, show students as active participants in their learning who should be consulted about institutional labels, testing, placement procedures, and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter discusses the development of the concept of autonomy in ELT and makes particular reference to its role in helping teachers come to terms with changing landscapes of teaching and learning. It then goes on to outline what we know about autonomy and its implementation to date and to discuss three current issues of concern: the social character of autonomy, learners' knowledge of the learning process, and teacher autonomy. The chapter concludes by indicating possible future developments in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter addresses the complex question of what makes a classroom environment motivating. It will be argued that in order to understand the psychological tapestry of classroom life, we need to adopt an interdisciplinary approach and draw on research findings from a number of different areas within the social sciences, such as group dynamics, motivational psychology, educational studies, and second language research. The assumption underlying this chapter is that the motivating character of the learning context can be enhanced through conscious intervention by the language teacher, and accordingly the main facets of the environment will be discussed with such a proactive and practical objective in mind. Key concepts to be addressed include group cohesiveness and interpersonal relations, group norms and student roles, the teacher's leadership styles, and the process of facilitation, as well as the main phases of a proactive, motivational teaching practice within a process-oriented framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For school-aged students who are learning ESL, the discourse of the classroom must simultaneously construct curriculum knowledge and be a site for second language development. This chapter focuses on academic language learning in the ESL school context, in particular on how language learning is mediated through classroom discourse. While linguistic, social, and sociocognitive traditions have interpreted the nature of interaction differently, it is seen in all of them as playing a major part in learning and language development. The chapter draws on research in sociocultural approaches to pedagogy, systemic functional linguistics (SFL), and second language acquisition (SLA) studies in examining the relationship between classroom discourse and the development of ESL students' academic language learning. It argues that interactions should be examined both for their effectiveness in fostering language development and also for the impact these interactions have on how students view themselves. The chapter concludes with some implications for classroom practice, which suggest how teachers can orchestrate classroom discourse for academic language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter discusses academic achievement and social identity development among bilingual students with respect to changing demographics of increased linguistic diversity and poverty for school-aged children in the United States. Institutional policies and practices are described that lead to blaming the victims of institutional inequity for low test scores and high dropout rates. Contrasting paradigms in literacy research are also discussed in relation to how perspectives of monolingual meritocracy lead to language loss and perpetuation of deficit discourses that negatively affect social identity formation for bilingual students. The authors argue that educators can play an important role in transforming inequities in the politics and practices of schooling, and they provide a model for the successful academic achievement of English language learning (ELL) and bilingual students. The model includes three essential components for literacy development and academic achievement: (a) human resources, including ELL students, their families and communities, and ESL and bilingual education professionals; (b) dialogic pedagogy; and (c) a curriculum for democratic citizenship, and economic and community development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, Toohey, Day, and Manyak discuss theoretical perspectives and empirical research that advance our understanding of the complex social processes involved in young children's acquisition of ESL. In the first two sections, they examine post-structuralist and sociocultural theories of identity and of mediated practice, highlighting constructs that provide insight into children's second language learning. In the last two sections, they review recent studies of young children's ESL learning that have applied these theoretical perspectives. The studies reveal how learners' identities, classroom practices, and learning resources interweave to inhibit or promote children's acquisition of English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter discusses the implications for assessment of changes in our conceptualization of English language learning. The chapter begins by proposing that different models of language and language learning result in very different perceptions of language learning goals and hence, different judgments of individual success and failure. This is exemplified with reference to a two year longitudinal ethnographic study of Hong Kong-born Cantonese-speaking students completing their final two years of English in a Melbourne secondary school. The detailed linguistic analysis of the students' written argument revealed a shift in the students' preferred genre, a shift apparently linked to the very different expectations and socialisation practices of Australian and Hong Kong schools as well as to conflicting subject discourses. However, the evaluation, and the consequences, of this shift depended on which model of argument and its development was foregrounded by teacher-assessors. In the absence of any clear guidance from examination boards, teachers made their own implicit and, usually, negative judgments without realising their own involvement in the co-construction of the students' arguments. The chapter concludes with some implications for assessment policy and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major thrust within the language teaching profession at the present time is the development and deployment of standards for instructional design. The standards movement has had a significant impact on curriculum development in Europe, North America and Australia. Within the International TESOL Association, standards have recently been developed for the following: Pre-K-12 content and assessment standards; standards for Intensive English Programs; adult education program standards; community college employment standards; standards for workplace language training; P-12 teacher education standards; teacher education standards for community college non-credit and credit programs; and adult education, and university programs. In this chapter, I will trace the evolution of the standards movement and relate it to the other two major performance-based movements: the objectives movement and competency-based education. I will then describe and exemplify three different types of standards: content, program, and teacher standards, before concluding the chapter by looking at ideological aspects of standards-based instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theory and research on second language acquisition have long acknowledged the significant influence of learner identities—that is, how learners see themselves and are seen by others in relation to the target language and culture. Learner age has likewise been a central theme in second language acquisition research. These two important factors intersect in the case of adolescent language learners. Adolescence is regarded as a particularly malleable and difficult age in the development of social identity and conception of self, and even more potentially problematic for multilingual and multiethnic English learners. In this chapter, I first briefly outline current debates and cross-cultural research about adolescence as a unique developmental stage in identity development and suggest potential implications for English language learning. I then outline major strands of investigation on the role of social context and social identity in adolescent English language learning, including research in social psychology and intercultural communication; research in social psychology, clinical psychology, and clinical health; research in educational anthropology and sociology; and research on critical theory, cultural studies, and poststructuralism. The chapter concludes with a summary of current debates and directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter explores the positive contribution that ideas and constructs from both the business and management training and the adult education literature can make to the theory and practice of workplace ELT curriculum design. Specifically, the chapter looks at how workplace stakeholders can provide a business voice to the ELT curriculum processes, how business-training planning and evaluation frameworks can assist ESP workplace practitioners in reconceptualizing the curriculum process, and how a review of adult learning research can help ESP workplace practitioners better understand the English language needs of professionals in the workplace. Unfortunately, the applied linguistic literature is, for the most part, school-based, leaving workplace ELT programs poorly researched and documented in terms of curriculum theory and practice. The chapter will report on studies of workplace English carried out in Hong Kong and the Philippines. The first Hong Kong study (Lockwood, 2002) investigated the way in which frameworks from business management and training can be used in ESP workplace training to ensure workplace stakeholders and thus the organization as a whole are better represented in the process. The second Hong Kong study (Hamp-Lyons et al., 2002) provides insights into how different stages in a professional career (in this case accountants) impact the kind of written language expectations of that professional. Two studies conducted in the Philippines in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) industry, specifically within call centers in Manila, illuminates further the language demands of the increasingly globalized workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the relatively short history of second language acquisition research there has been a clear division, and sometimes tension, between cognitive and socially-oriented approaches. Cognitive approaches view learners as individuals who process language input and produce language output. The major challenge for the researcher is to discover what happens in the ‘black box' between input and output. In contrast, socially-oriented approaches see learners as part of a larger social matrix, affiliated with diverse communities and interacting in dynamic ways with members of these communities. Second language acquisition, and learning generally, is produced within communities of practice rather than reflecting an accomplishment of isolated individuals. Gibbons in this section expresses the distinction succinctly: learning is seen as occurring between individuals, not within them. Clearly, there is no absolute division here—all theorists acknowledge that learners are both cognitive and social beings, but there are certainly differences in emphasis accorded to these two dimensions in the research literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter reviews recent trends in the conceptualizations and formats of tests used to determine whether non-native speakers of English have sufficient proficiency in English to study at English-medium universities in English-dominant countries. The review focuses on published research informing a new version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), but a range of similar tests internationally is also considered. Prominent among the issues guiding research and development on these tests are the following: construct validation, particularly refinements in the description of testing purposes, evaluations of the discourse produced in the contexts of testing, and surveys of relevant domains and score users; consistency, including fairness in opportunities for test performance across differing populations, reliability through field-testing and equating of test forms, and sampling of multiple, comparable performances from examinees; and innovations in the media of test administration, including various forms of computer and other technological adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter describes and discusses issues in the standards movement in ELT in relation to school-aged learners. Two broad types of standards are addressed: Firstly, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) standards that are written for English as a subject in the school curriculum, which is studied along common pathways by the majority of students; secondly, ESL standards that are written for ESL learners studying in an English-speaking environment, generally with English as the medium of instruction. Common "literacy" standards used to assess ESL learners are also discussed. Research in ELT standards is conceptualized as being three areas of work: the development of ELT standards, the critiquing of ELT standards, and empirical research into ELT standards. References to ELT standards from around the world are provided throughout, as are references to literature in the area. A central thesis in the chapter is that despite variations amongst ELT standards, inevitable because of policy, purpose, and contextual factors, there is a common core of issues and understandings that can and should draw the area of work together. Suggestions for further research, emphasizing the need for sharing of activity, are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter examines the possibilities and pitfalls of classroom-based English language assessment, drawing on both the language testing and classroom assessment literature in English language education as well as educational assessment more generally. The chapter opens with a brief overview of different contexts for language testing and assessment: external, classroom-based, and second language acquisition research. The second part of the chapter presents research findings that highlight different facets of classroom-based assessment: the different meanings of and purposes for assessment, relationships between formative and summative assessment, approaches and frameworks used in teacher assessment, teacher perceptions and implementation of assessment, and the extent to which conventional measurement paradigms are appropriate for assessing the worth of instructional embedded assessment. These research findings lead into a discussion of current concerns and issues, as well as some of the potential pitfalls associated with classroom-based assessment. The final part of the chapter outlines future directions for the field and highlights some of the challenges for both research and professional practice in relation to classroom-oriented assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment and evaluation have always been important areas of policy and practice in ELT, inextricably linked with many other aspects of TESOL, including language policy, language teaching methodology and curriculum design, teacher development, and second language acquisition, to name just a few. Assessment and evaluation are common concerns in different ELT sectors and levels, from mainstream schooling to specialist EAP courses, from kindergarten to adult, and in both traditional EFL and ESL contexts. However, for much of the history of ELT, assessment and evaluation have been seen as the responsibility of specialists, divorced from the business of teaching and learning. Assessment and evaluation judgments have usually been delivered long after the event, formulated in often mysterious and non-negotiable terms, with a heavy reliance on technical terminology and statistics. As a consequence, assessment and evaluation have always been taken for granted in ELT, but often misunderstood by practitioners, rarely included as a component in English language teacher training, and never really challenged by key stake-holders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of English for specific purposes (ESP), which addresses the communicative needs and practices of particular professional or occupational groups, has developed rapidly in the past forty years to become a major force in English language teaching and research. ESP draws its strength from an eclectic theoretical foundation and a commitment to research-based language education which seeks to reveal the constraints of social contexts on language use and the ways learners can gain control over these. In this chapter, I will briefly point to some of the major ideas and practices that currently influence ESP, focusing on needs analysis, ethnography, critical approaches, contrastive rhetoric, social constructionism, and discourse analysis. I then go on to look briefly at some of the effects ESP has had on language teaching and research, arguing that it has encouraged teachers to highlight communication rather than language, to adopt a research orientation to their work, to employ collaborative pedagogies, to be aware of discourse variation, and to consider the wider political implications of their role. Together these features of ESP practice emphazise a situated view of literacy and underline the applied nature of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter highlights the uncertainty, concerns, and approbation that accompany high-stakes language testing and assessment. It takes as a case study the language assessment of teachers of English in Hong Kong, and, in particular, the innovative performance test of teacher Classroom Language Assessment (CLA). The case study provides examples of major issues such as the validity and reliability of the assessments, the advantages and disadvantages of performance and criterion-referenced testing, and considers, within the issue of stakeholder involvement and reaction, the feedback from professional bodies and the concerns of those being assessed. Topics such as the relationship between academic concerns and the wishes of the clients (the Hong Kong SAR Government) are also discussed in order to explain the somewhat contradictory decisions that sometimes occur. The case study reveals how vital it is to consult and involve as many stakeholders as possible. The chapter ends with a summary of lessons that have been learned and areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]